Ritter takes stand, denies allegations of racism

Scattered throughout more than a month of testimony, former Richmond Police Department Deputy Chief Lori Ritter has been accused by some of her former colleagues of harboring a vendetta against them and lashing out at them with racially-tinged jokes.

But taking the witness stand herself for the first time on Tuesday, Ritter turned the tables.

“I’ve always felt that there was a good ol’ boys network” in the Richmond Police Department, Ritter said. “It was a predominately male profession … I didn’t like being excluded” from informal meetings among her colleagues, she added.

Ritter’s testimony Tuesday came as part of a discrimination lawsuit filed by seven high-ranking African American officers against Police Chief Chris Magnus, Ritter and the city of Richmond.

The lawsuit was initiated in 2007. The plaintiffs allege that Magnus and Ritter, who are white, created an environment hostile to black command staff officers, impaired their opportunities for promotion and made inappropriate racially-tinged jokes.

Ritter, wearing a dark purple dress and speaking in an even voice, testified on a range of topics and her own alleged actions, which have been explored during weeks of earlier testimony. Ritter, an avid outdoorswoman who loves horses, flew in for testimony from South Carolina, where she moved after her retirement in 2008.

During a day of cross-examination by prosecuting attorney Stephen Jaffe, two distinct phases of her career emerged ….